Time Moves On
by Dolphin River
Summary: [Abandoned, Up for Adoption] Sasuke returns to Konoha and finds out more than he bargained for. [AU]


A/N: Hope you guys enjoy this since I probably should have been working on homework instead of writing this. **Spoiler** warning. R&R please!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Time Moves On: Chapter 1**

He slipped silently through window, having been forced to dismantle a surprising number of traps just to get it open. The whole house was dark, showing that the one he had come to see wasn't home. But he didn't mind, he could look around while he waited, she would be home soon.

The house was nicely, simply, decorated, as a professional ninja doesn't need many possessions. The place was scrupulously clean, too. He noticed several picture frames standing on a shelf across the room, it being too dark to see their contents.

Suddenly, the scrape of a key in the lock on the front door caught his attention, so he moved to the shadows in order to be able to observe the owner of the home. The door opened and shut, a shuffling sound indicated that she was taking off her shoes. She then moved to the kitchen, where she turned on the light over the stove.

Her short pink hair hung slightly in her face while she leaned down into the fridge to take something out, the hitai-ate settled around her head like a head-band. The jounin vest she wore whispered softly with her movements as she pulled down pans from where they were hanging on a rack. She began to cut up vegetables, a little too many, in his opinion, for one person.

He slowly walked up behind her, his footsteps quiet, presence masked. That was why he was so surprised when she whirled around, shoving him hard against the wall, knife pressed against his throat.

"Who are you?" she growled angrily. He could literally feel the killing intent pulsing off her, ready to take his life in an instant.

"Sakura," he ground out past the knife, "it's me."

"Who's 'me?'" she pressed a little harder. He couldn't believe it; she didn't recognize him.

It hurt, but he spoke anyway. "Sasuke."

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. He expected her to lower the knife, but she stunned him again by pushing him hard against the wall once more. "What are you doing here?" Her eyes had narrowed to slits, threat evident in every syllable.

"I've come back. I've finally done it. Itachi is dead." This time she did lower the knife, dropping it next to her half prepared dinner.

"How?" her voice sounded odd to him, and now that she had turned away he couldn't read her expression.

"Does it matter? He dead, that is all I care about." Sakura's head nodded, as if this made sense. Slowly, she made her way to the table and slumped into a chair. Sasuke frowned. He had thought that she would be joyous that he had come back, he had achieved his ambition. "What's the matter, Sakura?"

Her face went completely blank. "Nothing."

Sasuke knew it wasn't 'nothing', but decided to change the subject, to get her at least to talk to him. "I see you've become a jounin."

Self-consciously, she plucked at the vest she wore, eyes glazing over. "Yeah, it was Naruto's idea."

"_Sakura-chan! Now that I've become a chuunin, we should train together for the jounin exams!" His infectious grin was turned up to full power as he looked at her. "Then once we're jounin we'll definitely be able to get Sasuke back! Whaddya say?"_

"_Naruto, I have to work shifts at the hospital on top of teaching at the academy! And then we actually have missions when I'm busy there! I don't have time." Sakura hated to disappoint Naruto like this._

_But, if anything, his smile just grew wider. "That's no problem! I'll just have to do some smooth talking to Tsunade-obaachan, and you'll have plenty of free time. She wouldn't want her apprentice to be the only one who hasn't become a jounin. Don't worry, we will definitely pass!"_

_Reluctantly, she agreed._

_**Two months later…**_

"_Congratulations, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he draped her new jounin vest across her shoulders. He had donned his already. "I told you we would pass."_

_Sakura smiled. "Yes, you did, Naruto."_

"_Say shuriken!" someone exclaimed, and the duo turned, smiling, to have their picture taken by none other than Kakashi. He was beaming happily at his former students, who were now his equals. "Now I have a few gifts to give you two, so lets go celebrate!"_

"_Yeah!" the seventeen year old cried out, as he dragged his former teammate and sensei toward Ichiraku's._

Sakura walked over to the shelves and picked up a frame. "This is the picture Kaka-sensei took of us." She handed it to him. It had been a fine day out when the picture had been taken, and Sasuke's two former teammates looked so happy. Naruto's hand rested on Sakura's shoulders while he stood behind her, leaning over her shoulder. Sasuke noted that Naruto was quite a bit taller than Sakura.

Sasuke smiled at the nostalgia, and noticed Sakura was smiling slightly too.

"I'll have to go talk to those two later , now that I'm back." he said absentmindedly, but when he looked at Sakura his musings stopped.

She had that blank look on her face again, and it was giving him the creeps.


End file.
